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01:50PM

Dimon : We did Fed 'favor' to buy Bear Stearnsby Ronald D. Orol

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
(jpm)
did the Federal Reserve a favor when it bought Bear Stearns & Co. during the height of the financial crisis in 2008, J.P. Morgan's CEO Jamie Dimon said Wednesday. "We did them a favor. We were asked to do it and we did it at great risk to ourselves," Dimon said at an event in Washington held by the Council on Foreign Relations. To avert the collateral damage to the markets from the Bear Stearns collapse, the Federal Reserve provided major government guarantees to assist J.P. Morgan to acquire the institution in March 2008. Dimon's comments come after the New York attorney general filed a lawsuit against J.P. Morgan on Oct. 2 for alleged fraud in the sale of mortgage-securities issued by Bear Stearns.

01:46PM

Coming up: Fed Beige Book report on economyby Greg Robb

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Federal Reserve is set to release its Beige Book report on the economy on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m Eastern. The report will cover economic activity for September. It is a collection of anecdotes from business contacts in the 12 Fed regional districts. The previous report showed six of the Fed's 12 districts expanding at a modest pace and three others citing moderate growth.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Treasury Department sold $21 billion in 10-year notes on Wednesday at a yield of 1.70%, lower than what some traders expected. Bidders offered to buy 3.26 times the amount of debt sold, compared to an average of 3.15 at the last four comparable auctions, according to CRT Capital Group. Indirect bidders, a group which includes foreign central banks, bought 41.4% of the sale, versus an average of 39.3% recently. Direct bidders, a group which includes domestic money managers, purchased another 22.9%, compared to 22.2% on average. After the auction, the broader bond market turned up as U.S. stocks extended their decline. Yields on 10-year notes
(10_year)
, which move inversely to prices, slipped 1 basis point to 1.71%.

12:53PM

Workers trapped in Fla. parking garage collapse by William Spain

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Part of a parking garage under construction at Miami-Dade College in Florida collapsed Wednesday, trapping workers inside, the Associated Press reports. Fire officials told a local TV news station that they can hear the victims crying out from beneath the rubble. Others who made their way out are being treated for injuries at the scene, the wire service noted, adding that there were no students inside the structure at the time of the incident. Rescuers are waiting to figure out where the workers are before starting to dig for them.

12:26PM

Evidence mounts against Lance Armstrongby David B. Wilkerson

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Wednesday it has "conclusive and undeniable" evidence that Lance Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team used performance-enhancing drugs in its quest to win races. The organization said it would submit more than 1,000 pages of supporting information, including the testimony of 15 riders with knowledge of the Postal Service team's activities, to the World Anti-Doping Agency, the World Triathlon Corp. and the Union Cycliste International. In August, Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France winner, said he would no longer fight against charges of drug use, prompting authorities to ban him from major cycling events for life.

12:16PM

Stratospheric sky dive called off againby William Spain

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner has again postponed his attempt at a supersonic sky dive over New Mexico, the Associated Press reports. After calling off the jump on Tuesday, he had hoped to give it another go Thursday but his meteorologist nixed the plan to due to wind conditions. He was hoping to become the first skydiver to break the sound barrier in a jump from a capsule lofted 23 miles into the stratosphere by a helium balloon. Baumgartner will announce his next step later Wednesday.

12:08PM

Fall hazard leads to recall of Graco high chairs
(
TGTWMT
)
by William Spain

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Wednesday announced a recall of 86,000 Graco wooden high chairs due to fall hazards. The Chinese-made products have a seat than can loosen or detach from the base and the company has received multiple reports of children falling, leading to bumps, bruises and scratches. It also got one report of a concussion in Canada. The high chairs were sold at Babies R Us, Burlington Coat Factory and other retail outlets including Target.com
(TGT)
and Walmart.com
(WMT)
between September 2007 and December 2010 for about $130.

11:56AM

Government warns on counterfeit air bags
(
FGMTM
)
by William Spain

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warned Wednesday that thousands of motorists may be driving vehicles with counterfeit air bags that can malfunction during an accident. The safety advisory comes as the agency said it had "become aware of a problem involving the sale of counterfeit air bags for use as replacement parts in vehicles that have been involved in a crash." The fakes look almost identical to certified, original equipment parts and carry the insignia and branding of major automakers including Ford
(F)
, General Motors
(GM)
and Toyota
(TM)
. The problem currently affects less than 1% of all vehicles on the road and NHTSA said that only those that have had an air bag replaced within the past three years are at risk.

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